Sometimes, when working on a newsletter or setting up social media, you are asked to import a list of your contacts. For some, this can seem overwhelming. Here are quick directions to help you.
Creating a Contact File
Outlook:
To export a CSV or tab-delimited text file from Outlook:
- Open Outlook
- Select “Import and Export” from the File menu
- When the wizard opens, select “Export to a file” and click “Next”
- Select “Comma separated values (Windows)” and click “Next”
- Select the Contacts folder you would like to export and click “Next”
- Choose a filename and a place to save the file (for instance, “Contacts.csv” on the Desktop), then click “Next”
- Confirm what you are exporting: make sure the checkbox next to “Export…” is checked and click “Finish”
Outlook Express
To export a CSV or tab-delimited text file from Outlook Express:
- Open Outlook Express
- Select “Export” from the “File” menu
- Click “Export”, and then click “Address Book”
- Select “Text File” (Comma Separated Values), and then click “Export”.
- Choose a filename and a place to save the file (for instance, “Contacts.csv” on the Desktop) and click “Next”.
- Click to select the check boxes for the fields that you want to export, and then click “Finish”. Please be sure to select the email address and name fields
- Click “OK” and then click “Close”
Windows Address Book
To export a CSV file from Windows Address Book:
- Open Windows Address Book
- From the “File” menu, select “Export”, then “Other Address Book…”
- When the “Address Book Export Tool” dialog opens, select “Text File (Comma Separated Values)” and click “Export”
- Choose a filename and a place to save the file (for instance, “Contacts.csv” on the Desktop) and click “Next”
- Click to select the check boxes for the fields that you want to export, and then click “Finish”. Please be sure to select the email address and name fields
- Click “OK” and then click “Close”
Mozilla Thunderbird
To export an LDIF file from Mozilla Thunderbird:
- Open Mozilla Thunderbird
- Select “Address Book” from the “Tools” menu
- When the address book window opens, select “Export…” from the “Tools” menu
- Choose a filename and a place to save the file (for instance, “Contacts.ldif” on the Desktop) and click “Save”
Entourage
To export a vCard file from Entourage:
- Open Entourage
- Select “Export” from the “File” menu
- Select “Local Contacts to a list (tab-delimited text)”
- Click the “Next” arrow
- Choose a filename and a place to save the file (for instance, “Contacts.txt” on the Desktop), then click “Save
- Click “Done” in the confirm dialog
Mac OS X Address Book
To export a vCard file from Mac OS X Address Book:
- Open Mac OS X Address Book
- Select the contacts you would like to export
- Select “Export vCards…” from the File menu
- Choose a filename and a place to save the file (for instance, “Contacts.vcf” on the Desktop), then click “Save”
To export a CSV file from LinkedIn:
- Sign into LinkedIn
- Visit the Address Book Export
- Select “Microsoft Outlook (.CSV file)” and click “Export”
- Choose a filename and a place to save the exported file (for instance, “Contacts.csv” on the Desktop)
Windows Mail
To export a CSV file from Windows Mail:
- Open Windows Mail
- Select Tools | Windows Contacts… from the menu in Windows Mail
- Click “Export” in the toolbar
- Make sure CSV (Comma Separated Values) is highlighted, then click “Export”
- Now click “Browse”
- Pick a folder to save the exported contacts.
- Choose a filename and a place to save the file (for instance, “Contacts.csv” on the Desktop) and click “Next”
- Click “Save” then click “Next”
- Make sure all address book fields you want included are checked
- Note that Windows Mail does not export first and last names separately, even though there are First Name and Last Name fields. Do choose Name instead.
- Click “Finish”
- Click “OK” then click “Close”